The Earl of SELKIRKasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why nearly two-thirds of the breadth of the Western end of M.27 have been closed over a considerable number of months; whether this is due to defective workmanship and when it is likely again to be fully open for public use.
§ Baroness STEDMANThe left-hand lane of a short length of the westbound two-lane carriageway of the M.27 Chilworth Link was closed to traffic last December following an earth slip on the embankment. The silp was not due to defective workmanship. A contract for the repair work was let in April and work is expected to be completed within the next three weeks. While work is in progress, it has been necessary to close the westbound carriageway of the Link and to restrict traffic to one lane in each direction for most of the time, but two lanes in each direction are now open to traffic at weekends.
Also, since April, repairs to cracks in the concrete carriageway have been carried out on the Chilworth Link and on the Chilworth to Ower section of the M.27 under the terms of the motorway contract. The cause of cracking in newly constructed concrete pavements is complex but investigation in this instance suggests that it may be due to a combination of temperature changes and slab restraint giving rise to tensile stresses in the concrete. On the Chilworth to Ower section two lanes have been available in each direction. Work is expected to continue until the early autumn. Both carriageways will be reopened for normal use as soon as the work is completed.